When A Truth Becomes THE Truth

"You may say in your heart, "˜How will we know the word which the LORD has not spoken?' When a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the thing does not come about or come true, that is the thing which the LORD has not spoken. The prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him. (Dt. 18:21"“22)

In an age of where the number of Bible translations is at an all time high, and access to the Bible is at a place where it never was before, in a strange kind of paradox, biblical ignorance is at a peak never attained since the Dark Ages. We all know a quick look at the Gospels would have saved these silly people from being taken on a "Camping trip" by Harold. The stupidity of this whole episode simply beggars belief. This guy Camping must so be puffed up with pride with a sense of his own self-importance as to be completely delusional.

However may I add something here. I hope that I don't offend anyone, but I'm going to say it anyway. Really I think Camping is only riding on the back of the Pre-Trib juggernaut driven by the Left Behind camp. Is it not that this unbiblical Pre-Trib with its "we could all dissappear at any moment with no sign or warning" idea has all but exterminated a biblical view of the events preceding Y'shua's Return?

Thus says the LORD, "Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things," declares the LORD. ( Jeremiah 9:23"“24)

giving no cause for offense in anything, so that the ministry will not be discredited, but in everything commending ourselves as servants of God... (2 Corinthians 6:3"“4a)

I am not a prophet, but as a Bible-based believer I make the 100% safe prediction that nothing predicted by Harold Camping and company will come true for May 21 or any date they set. But what we will experience, and have already experienced, is incredible damage to the church where its credibility and witness is concerned. If there is a more suitable poster child for giving offense and discrediting the ministry rather than being commended as a servant of God than Camping and company, I don't know who to nominate. And even worse is the effect that this "crying wolf" is having on the unsaved who, when they need it most, are being desensitized to the Gospel in general and the true specific signs pointing to the return of Christ.

It was not just a colossal waste of time and money which the deceived squandered, it is not just their personal reputations and witness that are called into question, but every true believer and maintainer of biblical truth has to live with the consequences. If you're a Christian, don't laugh at what was so obviously a folly of the flesh; weep at what has been done to the name and message of Christ.

Prominent pro-homosexual groups are applauding a decision by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) that opens the door for churches in that denomination to ordain individuals who identify as lesbian, "gay," bisexual, or transgender.

PC(USA) has struck down a requirement that unmarried clergy remain celibate, removing a key barrier for homosexuals who want to be ordained. Ordination standards under the new policy remove the constitutional requirement that all ministers, elders, and deacons live in "fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman or chastity in singleness" -- and replace it with "joyful submission to the Lordship of Jesus Christ in all aspects of life."

Delegates to the PC(USA)'s general assembly endorsed the new policy last year, but the change still required ratification from the majority of its 173 regional districts, known as "presbyteries." The Presbytery of the Twin Cities Area in Minneapolis provided the deciding vote Tuesday night.

The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force describes the move as a "gift" that reflects the PC(USA)'s "sacred persistence, its faithful pursuit of justice, and its joyful celebration of the gifts God has given to [LGBT] persons called to ministry."

More Light Presbyterians, a pro-LGBT group within the denomination, hails the move, saying passage of amendment 10-A restores the denomination's "longstanding...emphasis upon faith and character" regarding ordination.

"Now, faithful and qualified lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Presbyterians can openly serve the church with energy, intelligence, imagination, and love," notes a spokesperson for More Light Presbyterians.

The change will allow presbyteries to decide who should be ordained. But according to The Associated Press, some of those regional bodies are expected to continue to reject candidates who are openly homosexual. About 100 of the 11,000 PC(USA) churches have already broken away in anticipation of the vote, but other conservative congregations have decided to remain in the 2.1 million-member denomination for now.

Harold Camping's Family Radio Is At It Once More

Not for the first time, false teacher and proven false prophet Harold Camping and his frolicking band of religious lunatics and "Family Radio" devotees are discrediting the Body of Christ with absurd doctrines and false predictions. The date-setting for the return of Christ forbidden by Jesus, hatred of all other churches and ministries aside from their own, the hideous old crank cum heretical false prophet they have for a guru and the absurd doctrines of this cultic and pathetic deceived brood of supposed scripture-believing Christians of some warped description resembles the Jehovah's Witnesses and the World Wide Church of God of the late conniver Herbert W. Armstrong. It holds no resemblance, of course, to any scriptural model of Christianity dating back to the Millerites of the 19th century. That movement directly and indirectly spawned a diverse array of cults and splinter sects including the Seventh-day Adventists and The Dawn Bible Society which became the Jehovah's Witnesses. Similar episodes of such false predictions for Christ's return have surfaced at multiple pivotal points in church history such as with the early Montanists, the Muenster Ana Baptists in the 16th century and with the Shakers in the 18th century.

So rejoice, O sons of Zion,
And be glad in the LORD your God;
For He has given you the early rain for your vindication.
And He has poured down for you the rain,
The early and latter rain as before. (Joel 2:23)

This is a verse I have heard and seen oft quoted to assert that there is still a powerful revival to come, what some people call "The Latter Rain". This is a part of the reason for the enthusiasm crowds of people have exhibited over the past 25 years at the notorious false revivals beginning in Kansas City and which took the show on the road to Brownsville, Pensacola, Toronto, Lakeland, various points abroad and most recently opening for a limited engagement in Alabama. (It will not last and fail just like its predecessors.) People who have it in the back of their mind that there is one, last world-altering revival may not be taking the time to assess if what they are seeing is biblically authentic or not. But the greater question I am posing is if there really is one, big, final outpouring of the Spirit ahead of us?

There is some very interesting background teaching commentary to an event we see after Yeshua's triumphal entry into Jerusalem. In Matthew 21:14 it says, "And the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them."(NASB). Not only does this material shed light on the significance of this action by our Messiah, but it also gives some thought-provoking insights into the ways Yeshua will deal with His people in the days to come.

I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths. But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. "” 2 Timothy 4:1"“5 (NASB)

In the first article on this website titled, "Is the Rapture Really Taking As Many As You Think?", I used the event of the Rapture (without going into the eschatology behind it) as a vehicle to suggest that with all the false movements currently wreaking havoc within the Church, with so many followers of false teachers and false prophets, and with the general tolerance of sin within the Christian community, that not everyone who claims the label "Christian" or even "Evangelical" is currently meeting the minimum biblical requirements to participate in that event.

I followed this up with the article, "Who Will Be Left Behind?" which explained from Scripture that those who will be left behind the second go-round will be the same ones "left behind" at Christ's First coming, people who claim an association with God but refuse to accept Christ on His terms, who further refuse to deal with willful sin and false doctrine in their life, and are ultimately proven false by their lack of spiritual fruit. But now I can fully divulge my ultimate destination in tackling this subject: who is responsible?

The vast amount of finger pointing focuses on the myriad false teachers and the powerful false movements they propel, but while this is significant, I am going to offer these may not be the most guilty party. Those who just might have to shoulder the greatest burden of responsibility for the "great falling away" of these final hours is you and I.

Contrary toÃ‚Â the lyrics in a popular worship song currently being invokedÃ‚Â in the church today,Ã‚Â "These are the days of Elijah", I believe a Ã‚Â more accurate description of our timeÃ‚Â would rather Ã‚Â be fromÃ‚Â 1 SamuelÃ‚Â 3, Ã‚Â "These are the daysÃ‚Â of Eli, the priest of Shiloh".

It is important to understand theÃ‚Â trueÃ‚Â condition and diagnosis that we asÃ‚Â a church haveÃ‚Â enteredÃ‚Â into, Ã‚Â and unfortunatelyÃ‚Â it is not a condition that warrantsÃ‚Â singing about ourÃ‚Â health and well-being. Scripturally, theÃ‚Â Ã‚Â "righteousnessÃ‚Â being restored"Ã‚Â will actually come through judgement not favouritism. According to God's Word Ã‚Â whatÃ‚Â reallyÃ‚Â lies ahead propheticallyÃ‚Â isÃ‚Â aÃ‚Â period ofÃ‚Â Ã‚Â trouble, exile,Ã‚Â and persecutionsÃ‚Â andÃ‚Â notÃ‚Â triumphalism. What we doÃ‚Â needÃ‚Â Ã‚Â is to beÃ‚Â prepared spiritually and mentally. We need Ã‚Â aÃ‚Â deepÃ‚Â sense of humility, and a determination to obey God's Word (indeed, as ElijahÃ‚Â did) Ã‚Â so asÃ‚Â not to missÃ‚Â theÃ‚Â direction the Lord is taking us in.Ã‚Â We must, among other things, not end up trying to protectÃ‚Â Ã‚Â an establishedÃ‚Â Ã‚Â leadership in so many cases in today's church when so much of this contemporary leadership Ã‚Â is actuallyÃ‚Â under God's condemnation ( as John the Baptist and ElijahÃ‚Â warned Israel).